Tempting Fate and Tolkien Purists, Peter Jackson Adds Orlando Bloom to ‘The Hobbit’

Would you cast someone to play Anna Karenina in a film version of “War and Peace”? Bring in Tom Joad to spruce up your “Of Mice and Men” movie? Or add Jack Pumpkinhead to the roster of “The Wizard of Oz”? Probably not if you know what’s good for you, but that hasn’t discouraged Peter Jackson from risking the wrath of the literary-adaptation gods by announcing that he has added his “Lord of the Rings” starOrlando Bloom to the cast of his “Hobbit” movies, even though Mr. Bloom’s character, the elf Legolas, doesn’t appear in J. R. R. Tolkien’s original “Hobbit” novel.

In a Facebook post on Friday, Mr. Jackson wrote: “Ten years ago, Orlando Bloom created an iconic character with his portrayal of Legolas. I’m excited to announce today that we’ll be revisiting Middle Earth with him once more.” Mr. Jackson, who is currently directing a two-movie adaptation of “The Hobbit” in New Zealand, gave Mr. Bloom his first major film roles by casting him as Legolas in his “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, helping raise the actor to stardom and other hit movies like the “Pirates of the Caribbean” series. (Since then, Mr. Jackson observed: “Funny thing is, I look older — and he doesn’t! I guess that’s why he makes such a wonderful elf.”)

That may not be sufficient justification for Tolkien purists, like a Facebook commenter named Marc Nadeau, who wrote in reply to Mr. Jackson’s post that casting Mr. Bloom in “The Hobbit” was “just blatant fanboyism.”

For his “Hobbit” movies Mr. Jackson has previously incorporated Tolkien characters who didn’t appear in the novel, like the elf Galadriel (who will be played by Cate Blanchett, reprising the role from the “Lord of the Rings” movies.) We’re not superstitious people, but we wonder if tampering with a sacred text has anything to do with the string of bad luck that Mr. Jackson has experienced during production of his “Hobbit” films